Katrina and the Waves

Like most of you I'm glued to the television watching the devastation that has befallen much of southern Louisiana and Mississippi, and most notably, New Orleans, as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, it appears that it's going to get worse before it gets better. My prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and/or earthly possessions. Please donate to a relief organization such as the Red Cross, which is providing humanitarian aid to those devastated by this calamity.

True Believers

An extremely interesting post by Wretchard at The Belmont Club, which quotes from Paul Berman's recent book Terror and Liberalism.

In a word the Left would logically be expected to oppose Osama Bin Laden because it represents everything Berman thinks the Left has fought against since it's inception. The question Berman tries to answer is why the precise opposite has happened.

UPDATE:

Wretchard makes an excellent point in the comments section, as well.

The period of the Great Purges holds enduring interest for me because it is consequent to Communism's great decision to replace God, who they believed did not exist, with man in whom they had endless faith. But what if it turned out that Man, at least political Man, actually resembled Joseph Stalin? That was the epiphany of Dachau and Magadan. If Man were truly fallen then where could one turn?

The answer of course, was to turn inward; to keep the epiphany a secret. Even though the Left has consigned the story of the Great Purges, Mao's Great Leap Forward and the Year Zero to the skeleton closet, subconsciously they've lost faith in Man yet are unwilling to make their way back to God. What's Left is a life in which no worldly pleasures are prohibited, in which 'security' is guaranteed from cradle to the yawning grave. And into this paradise of despair God comes again, this time in the shape of Allah, to make a mockery of everything the Left has on offer. When Nietzsche proclaimed the Death of God he did not say it only had to happen once.

Update From Camp Casey

Powerline Blog reader Curt Loftis spent two days in Crawford, Texas, carrying out a first-hand reconnaissance of the anti-American forces assembled there. Read about it here.

UPDATE:

Here's another observation from a man on the ground.

The Media Quagmire

Good article by Scott Johnson in the Daily Standard about the biased media coverage of the Iraq War. The money quote:

As Paul Weaver wrote in 1977 in his review of Big Story [Peter Braestrup's book subtitled "How the American Press and Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis of Tet 1968 in Vietnam and Washington"]: "A politicized press speaking the language of news is an instrument of propaganda, and such an institution does not foster democracy, but erodes it."

France Smears Lance

The French are a disgrace. But that's nothing you didn't already know.

More on Iraq

There's a theme in my last few posts on Iraq: Progress. It's something we don't hear enough about in the lamestream media. In his column in the Chicago Sun-Times, Mark Steyn discusses some of this progress.

In Iraq right now the glass is around two-thirds full, and those two thirds will not be drained down to Sunni Triangle levels of despair. There are 1 million new cars on the road since 2003, a statistic that no doubt just lost us warhawks that Sierra Club endorsement but which doesn't sound like a nation mired in hopelessness. A new international airport has been opened in the north to cope with the Kurdish tourist and economic boom. Faruk Mustafa Rasool is building a 28-story five-star hotel with a revolving restaurant and a cable-car link to downtown Sulaimaniya.

Steyn points out how the media are continuing to present a one-sided view of Iraq, particularly as it relates to the ongoing negotiations in drafting the Iraqi constitution.

As the deadline approaches, we read that the whole magilla's about to go belly up, there's no agreement on the way forward, Washington's going to have to admit it called things disastrously wrong and step in to salvage what it can by postponing the handover to an Iraqi administration/the first free elections/the draft constitution/whatever.

Steyn argues that the divisive nature of the three parties to the negotiations (Kurds, Shia, and Sunni) is actually a boon for the process.

If you want to start an experiment in Middle Eastern liberty, where better than a nation split three ways where no one group can easily dominate the other two?

If you'd been asked in 2003 to devise an ideal constitution for Iraq's very non-ideal circumstances, it would look something like this: a highly decentralized federation that accepts the reality that Iraq is a Muslim nation but reserves political power for elected legislators -- and divides the oil revenue fairly.

Unfortunately, as we've pointed out before, the MSM (mainstream media) constantly slant headlines and coverage to promote a sense of failure and despair in hopes to undermine our efforts in Iraq. Steyn beautifully summarizes the state of affairs in America.

To be sure, we shouldda done this, and we shouldda done that. Yet nonetheless Iraq advances day by day. The real quagmire is at home, where the kinkily gleeful relish of defeatism manifested by Cindy Sheehan, Joan Baez, Ted Kennedy et al. bears less and less relationship to anything happening over there. Iraq's future is a matter for the Iraqis now -- which, given the U.S. media, Democrat blowhards like Joe Biden and Republican squishes like Chuck Hagel, is just as well.

The Rejection of Materialism

As I've said before, Dennis Prager is one of my favorite thinkers. In this article he contrasts the Judeo-Christian philosophy with the leftist worldview, which is descendant from Marxism.

Because religious people have values that transcend the material, Marx called religion the opiate of the masses: It keeps the masses from making social revolution by keeping them happy with non-material concerns and non-material rewards. The further left one goes, the more significant social revolution becomes. It does for two reasons:

First, devoid of religious meaning in their lives, for many on the Left, social change -- or as it is known today, "social justice," the term for left-wing social change -- has become their substitute religion and provider of meaning.

Second, given that the only reality is material, any denial of materialism's supremacy disturbs the Left. The true leftist objects to the notion of poorer people leading happy lives.

Although Judeo-Christian values also care about material progress, it is not the primary concern. Non-material concerns, such as charity, freedom, and spirituality--values that elevate the soul--are held in higher regard. However,

To a materialist, the notion that poor people would place non-material concerns over material ones is absurd, if not perverse.

Read the whole article. Dennis does a wonderful job of clarifying the distinctions.

Another Progress Report

Sometimes I feel a little down when I read about all the America-haters in our own country. I realize that Canadians and Europeans are going to hate us because all they hear is one-sided leftist crap from their media and many (but certainly not all) are too lazy to find alternative sources of information. Thank God we have a number of choices from which to choose in America from the left (Los Angeles Times, New York Times, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, etc.) and the right (Fox, News, most successful talk radio shows, etc.). One of the best things about the Internet/blogging is that there are many informed people who can fact-check and engage in protracted discourse (obviously there are a lot of brainless hate-spewing sites, too, which are worthless). In any event, this post at Generation Why links to a list of good things that are happening in the ongoing War on Terror. It's encouraging.

A Contrast -- GWB and Bill Clinton

The post title links to an article that illustrates an interesting insight into the disparate personalities of President Bush and former president Bill Clinton, using the example of how each man deals/dealt with the families of fallen soldiers. Guess which one is mostly concerned about the families and which one is primarily concerned with himself.

Our Progress So Far

Christopher Hitchens authors an excellent essay in the Daily Standard called A War To Be Proud Of. The article details the accomplishments of the Bush administration's proactive war on terrorism.

Yesterday's gig...

was a lot of fun. David Styles, a DJ with KIIS FM, was there doing some promotions and we had him come up and jam with us on the drums. Actually, he doesn't really know how to play drums, but he gave it a good try and seemed to have a good time.

LTA @ Beach Cities Festival

Lower Than Angels is playing this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. @ the Beach Cities Summer Spectacular in Redondo Beach at the corner of Aviation Boulevard and Manhattan Beach Boulevard. If you're in the area, stop by and check it out. Parking and admission are free. Bring your puppets.

The Paranoid Style

Antoher great article penned by Victor Davis Hanson, who is a military historian and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University (and a registered Democrat, I believe). Posting his articles is becoming a regular (weekly) occurrence.

It is becoming nearly impossible to sort the extreme rhetoric of the antiwar Left from that of the fringe paleo-Right. Both see the Iraqi war through the same lenses: the American effort is bound to fail and is a deep reflection of American pathology.

This Guy Hates Teenagers (Especially On TV)

I hesitate to post something about a show I've never seen, but this guy's review of the "reality" show "Brat Camp" is actually very funny.

Oops

This is kinda funny. http://www.thehometownchannel.com/money/4891417/detail.html

Another Example of Bias @ the New York Times

This is disgraceful journalism.

Blogging About Combat in Iraq

This is an absolute must-read from the blog of Michael Yon, an author who is blogging from Mosul, Iraq. This post is a riveting account of a battle between coalition forces and terrorists.

Terrorism Is Like A Cancer

The title of this post links to a thought-provoking article that suggests a different way to view terrorism.

We need to understand how the terrorists operate and sustain themselves. Al Qaeda is not like any enemy we have ever faced and therefore our national responses will be unlike any we have ever given. While Al Qaeda is obviously capable of great violence, it may be likened to a virus that has already infected the world's systems of commerce, travel, finances, politics and communications.

The first step in staunching the spread of the cancer, is to understand the reason it is growing.

The process is similar to angiogenesis in cancer, where a tumor takes over control of the body's ability to produce blood vessels for the sole purpose of nourishing itself. One way doctors spot tumors is by finding unusual concentrations of blood vessels feeding the growing malignancy. [Donald] Sensing's [Winds of Change] comparison of Islamic terrorism to a virus, if correct, makes a nonsense of claims that that Islamic militants are infiltrating the West in retaliation for Iraq or even the supposed provocations of Israel. The infiltration is occuring for entirely independent reasons: to provide nutrients for the malignancy or to turn ordinary systems into their purposes.

Understanding the analogy of terrorism as cancer turns conventional wisdom about how to eradicate it on its head. A widely-held belief is that if only the West provided more aid, support, freedom, etc. to Muslim countries they would leave us alone. This is empirically untrue. Some examples of aid we've provided to Muslims in the recent past: 1) the war in Bosnia to save Muslims from Serbian Christians, 2) the failed mission to Somalia that was intended to deliver humanitarian aid to a Muslim population, 3) billions of dollars in foreign aid to various Muslim countries and the Palestinian Authority, 4) financial and rescue assistance after the tsunami of 12/26/05, 4) the expenditure of blood and treasure to liberate millions of people from a cruel and despotic dictator in Iraq, and the ongoing rehabilitation of a dilapidated infrastructure that had been neglected for three decades, etc. What dividend have we received from our actions?

I'm not suggesting that we discontinue our acts of goodwill. However, this article suggests that, not only will "doing more good" not ensure peace, it may exacerbate the problem it is intended to eliminate.

Consequently, in reverse of expectations, the more material one provides to the disease -- Islamic terrorism by analogy -- the less ameliorative its effects. Welfare benefits would be received, not with gratitude but to fund militancy; council housing used to host bomb factories; UN relief grants used to pay for Hamas banners that say "Gaza Today. The West Bank and Jerusalem Tomorrow".

Successfully combating the terrorism disease must involve implementation of a comprehensive strategy that cuts off the blood flow from all sources that nourish it. Thankfully, President Bush understands the nature of the disorder. His remedy--the Bush Doctrine.

We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network. This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat. Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.

Not So Good News From Africa

It's interesting to hear cries of "Imperialism!" against the West from the Muslim world when, in fact, some Muslim countries appear to be the primary source of modern-day imperialism. Read about current Muslim efforts in Africa here.

This Show Is Funny

Steve Carrell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Daily Show, Anchorman) is hilarious in "The Office," which airs Tuesday nights on NBC. It's sometimes over the top, but very funny. Especially, if you work in an office (like me).

Another insult to America's heritage at Freedom Center

A global network of human rights museums is urging the International Freedom Center to downplay America in its exhibits and programs at Ground Zero, the Daily News has learned. The outrageous request is the latest controversy to torment the Freedom Center, whose leaders have tried to dispel the perception that it would be a home for America bashers. "Don't feature America first," the IFC has been advised by the consortium of 14 "museums of conscience" that quietly has been consulting with the Freedom Center for the past two years over plans for the hallowed site. "Think internationally, where America is one of the many nations of the world."

Those words rang hollow with some 9/11 family members.

"I can't think of a greater insult than to invite museums from other countries of the world to come and exploit what should be America's memorial," said Jack Lynch, who helped carry the body of his firefighter son Michael, 30, out of the rubble.

A Timeless Bob Hope Movie Line

Click the "one of the greatest" link once you get to the page.

Media War Coverage

John Hinderaker at Powerline provides some much-needed perspective to the mainstream media coverage of the Iraq War here.

Slip-up on Fox News

I was watching an interview on Sunday involving parents of two soldiers who died in Iraq . One was a man who had lost a son, saying that Cindy Sheehan didn't represent his views on the war. The other was a woman who was more sympathetic to Sheehan's views. As the moderator threw it to the mother for the final word, she said (I'm paraphrasing) that she couldn't understand why the Iraqis don't get off their butts and start taking responsibility for their country, and start taking IUDs instead of the American forces. Presumably, she was thinking about IEDs--a military acronym for Improvised Explosive Device--and not this contraption. My wife didn't hear what the mother had said, and she looked at me oddly as I started laughing hysterically at the TV set (especially considering the solemn subject). I'll see if I can't track down the video.

Blackstronauts?

Click here to read about the Shocking-But-False Story of America's Blackstronauts. It's classic, though not for people who are offended by some profanity or racial humor.

Why Casey Sheehan Died

The post title links to an excellent exposition about the danger Islamo-fascist ideology poses and why we must fight to eradicate it.

More Sheehan-igans

For lovers of political/current events blogs, Powerline blog is a must-read. This post discusses a Rasmussen Poll that reports a pluarality of Americans disapprove of Cindy Sheehan despite the mostly favorable press coverage. Check it out here.

This guy has had enough of the Sheehan bit, too.

UPDATE:

Mark Steyn (registration required) drops a frickin' bomb on the anti-war left's efforts to infantilize our military.

And, if you're as heavily invested as Ms. [Maureen] Dowd in the notion that those 'killed in Iraq' are 'children', then Mrs Sheehan's status as grieving matriarch is a bonanza. I agree with Mrs Ryan: they're not children in Iraq; they're thinking adults who 'made a decision to join the Armed Forces and defend our country'. Whenever I'm on a radio show these days, someone calls in and demands to know whether my children are in Iraq. Well, not right now. They range in age from five to nine, and though that's plenty old enough to sign up for the jihad and toddle into an Israeli pizza parlour wearing a suicide-bomb, in most advanced societies' armed forces they prefer to use grown-ups.

That seems to be difficult for the Left to grasp. Ever since America's all-adult, all-volunteer army went into Iraq, the anti-war crowd have made a sustained effort to characterise them as 'children'. If a 13-year-old wants to have an abortion, that's her decision and her parents shouldn't get a look-in. If a 21-year-old wants to drop to the Oval Office shagpile and chow down on Bill Clinton, she's a grown woman and free to do what she wants. But, if a 22- or 25- or 37-year old is serving his country overseas, he's a wee 'child' who isn't really old enough to know what he's doing.

I get many emails from soldiers in Iraq, and they sound a lot more grown-up than most Ivy League professors and certainly than Maureen Dowd, who writes as if she's auditioning for a minor supporting role in Sex and the City. The infantilisation of the military promoted by the Left is deeply insulting to America's warriors but it suits the anti-war crowd's purposes. It enables them to drone ceaselessly that 'of course' they 'support our troops', because they want to stop these poor confused moppets from being exploited by the Bush war machine.

Let's See Some More Of This

Finally, a Saudi journalist writes an article equating Islamo-fascists to Nazis and saying that total war should be declared upon them. This guy gets it.

“I still believe that one of the first tasks for the international community today should be to reconstruct its experience with Nazism and cope with this barbaric, dangerous culture as it did with the Nazi culture,” al-Sheikh wrote. “If this isn’t done, the coming days could be very eventful and their implications for the whole of humanity would be much more severe than those of the World War,” he concluded somberly.

Here's another indication that some in the Muslim world are waking/speaking up.

The Twin Towers Rise Again

I thought this was kinda cool.

In tribute to victims of the 9-11 attack on New York City, the U.S. Navy is using 10 tons of steel from the World Trade Center to build a new warship that will help defend the nation from terrorism.

A Great Indie Rock Band

A friend of mine--Mike Spencer--turned me on to this great indie rock band from L.A. called World Without Sundays. This is one of the best local (and still unsigned!) rock bands I've heard in years. According to their website, they are playing the Roxy Theater in Hollywood on August 20th. It should be a great show.

Some Great New Music

One of my best friends--Bob Hartry--is an excellent guitar player (who plays in LTA!) and has also become a very good record producer. Since he and I co-produced a record for the Anaheim Vineyard he has gone on to record a number of independant projects, which are too many to name here. One of my favorites is an EP he has just completed with another friend--Rie Sinclair--entitled "Glow." I can't stop listening to this record. It's got 6 songs, with my favorite being the title track. According to her website, the EP will be released sometime this summer. If you like acoustic pop and moody alternative rock (she sounds a little bit like Alanis Morissette and Leigh Nash from Sixpence None The Richer), you will love this record!

That INXS Show (Part II)

I wathced that Rockstar:INXS show again last night and, as last time, only caught about 15 minutes of it. Fortunately, I saw the final performance of the evening, which was given by an Austrailian bloke named "Mig." Playing piano, Mig nailed Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way." I have only seen a couple of the other performers so I can't say definatively who I think should win. But, judging by this guy's performance, not to mention his image (aesthetics do count, after all), he definately should be a strong consideration to front INXS (it doesn't hurt that he's Austrailian, either). The panels/audiences response suggested that he may be a favorite at this stage of the competition.

Bush Didn't Lie

Phil Hendrie has a syndicated radio show that is brilliantly funny, if sometimes (way) over the top. However, 0n the occasion that he is serious, he is a clear thinker who is very persuasive. In this article he critiques the canard that is so often bandied about by the anti-war movement--"Bush Lied."

Be sure to read some of the comments section. My favorite one so far is...

What bugs me about the "Bush Lied" canard is the subliteracy of those who use it. To lie is not merely to say something that is untrue--Ptolemy wasn't "lying" when he claimed that the sun revolves around the earth. He was merely mistaken. "Lying" implies intention to deceive. Considering that every authoritative source (not counting Sean Penn, of course) believed that Saddam was in possession of the raw materials to produce WMDs, it is hardly credible to suggest that Bush "lied". At best, he was merely wrong. But we shouldn't underestimate the need amongst the 9/10 crowd to bask in the warm glow of their infinite self-righteousness and self-supposed moral superiority. This need makes meaningful, intelligent dialogue impossible, since the 9/10ers can't merely disagree with Bush and supporters of the war--they must make them evil. If they are the angels, Bush and his supporters MUST be the devils. Self-righteousness cannot permit moral ambiguity or honest disagreement.

Air Ameriscam (cont.)

Michelle Malkin and the Radio Equalizer are doing some investigative reporting on the unfolding scandal at the leftist radio network, Air America. According to Malkin,

It's not just the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls that's knocking on Air America Radio's door looking for lost money. According to court records obtained by Radio Equalizer/MichelleMalkin.com, another major creditor has been demanding that Air America pay up. The liberal radio network has refused to do so, despite a court order and scathing words from a New York judge overseeing the case. Now, the creditor--Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc.--has filed a new complaint, accusing Air America and Piquant LLC (Air America's current owners) of engaging in a "sham transaction" and "fraudulent conveyance" of assets in order to avoid paying its debts. (See the prescient Professor Bainbridge for corporate law background.)

Keep Quiet And Listen!

I love Victor Davis Hanson's writing. He's a brilliant thinker and commentator. The title of this post links to an article in which he argues that we should actually listen to the words of radical Islamo-fascists because they may portend an ominous future.

Throughout this war we have an understandable, if ethnocentric, habit of ignoring what our enemies actually say. Instead we chatter on, don’t listen, and in self-absorbed fashion impart our own motives for their hatred. We live on the principles of the Enlightenment and so worship our god Reason, thus assuming that even our adversaries accept such rational protocols as their own.

So they talk on and on of beheading, suicide bombing, another holocaust, and blowing thousands of us up, while we snooze, now and again waking in the midst of a war to regurgitate Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, flushed Korans, the abusive Patriot Act, and the latest quip of Donald Rumsfeld.

What Left-wing Bias?

Anybody who casually observes the mainstream media (MSM) coverage of the Iraq War knows how biased (i.e. dishonest) it can be. Arthur Chrenkoff presents a case in point.

When parents of a Marine from Ohio killed in Iraq call in question President Bush's strategy in Iraq, advocating either escalation or complete withdrawal, and call Cindy Sheehan "the Rosa Parks of the new movement opposing the Iraq war", "The Washington Post" thinks the story is important enough to make page A02 of the paper (hat tip: Little Green Footballs). When a mother of a Marine from Ohio killed in Iraq says "The dedication to the cause is something to admire... How proud we are of these young men, and what they continue to do and what they stand for", it gets the last paragraph of a story on page A19. Go figure.

The Exploits and Exploitation of Cindy Sheehan

The anti-war movement has made Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier slain in Iraq, the cover girl for their movement. Obviously, Mrs. Sheehan (soon to be Ms.) is grieving for her son and is entitled to criticize the Bush Administration's Iraq policy. However, it does not mean that people with opposing ideas have no right to challenge hers. James Lileks is a very entertaining commentator/blogger who has written persuasively about this topic.

UPDATE:

Arthur Chrenkoff chimes in on the Sheehan spectacle.

...what Cindy Sheehan's vigil increasingly reminds me of most is a vaguely blasphemous spectacle. Here we have Casey Sheehan, the martyred Messiah, and Cindy Sheehan, the grief-stricken Mother of God, sitting at the foot of a forest of little white crosses, while the anti-war crowd partakes in the unholy communion of Casey's body and blood, in the hope that he - through the agency and intercession of his mother - will be their new savior, leading them to the Kingdom of Heaven where the US troops are out of Iraq and George Bush is out of the White House. Casey Sheehan might have died for - and because of - President Bush's sins (and if we believe Cindy's anti-Semitic ravings, Casey, like the medieval Christ, was murdered by the Jews), but his sacrifice will surely bring the political resurrection to the anti-war movement, buffeted by the re-election of BushHitler.

I'm sorry that Casey died. I'm sorry that Cindy lost her son. I'm sorry that her family is now being torn apart. But I'm not surprised that the whole sorry saga is becoming increasingly distasteful to other grieving parents.

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Radio talk-show host Phil Hendrie chimes in with a devastating piece on the exploitation of Cindy Sheehan by the anti-war movement.

Anti-War Mom raised her children in the American culture of struggle, progress, success and failure. Like many, she refused to take ownership of her government, preferring the platitude of loving her country. No people own their government more than the American people. And no other people in the world more strenuously disassociate from it when the going gets tough. And the going is always the toughest when times are good and war arrives. For Cindy Sheehan and millions of other moms the inconvenience of this could not be overstated. While she was busy chasing the good life, made possible by the millions of backstairs deals cut globally everyday through American corporations and politicians (not to mention enforced by an international security apparatus) her good life was coming up against other considerations authored in the caves of Pakistan.

At first, since it was a question of country, not government, Anti-War Mom supported the war although her loyalty to one and not the other began to impede her ability to understand things clearly. When news arrived of her sons death, her tenuous line to reality snapped. Not only was she not at all responsible for her government, she didn't much like the country either, lecturing her fellow citizens on the costs of war, arrogant in the depths of her ignorance about the prices others have paid.

Anti-War Mom might be powerful had she any ideas of her own. But since she is a mouth-piece for the September 10th movement her guns
are empty. The Anti-War movement in America continues to lack anything approaching ideas or answers.

A Nice Evening

Steve and Cindy Rethmeier came over for dinner last night. Those of you who know the Rethmeiers know that it was a great time. It was extra special because the Rethmeiers had coordinated with my wife to surprise me with a new set of top-of-the-line pots and pans for cooking (my friends at The Scrutiny would be proud). Steve is a great cook (along with being my boss) and Cindy is a phenomenal baker and cook, as well. They gave Cherie and I a lesson on making a simple, but delicious chicken, rice and green beans dinner, complete with special sauces using a number of different herbs and spices. Then we had a few bottles of wine and talked into the night. It was a very nice evening.

Hitchens Steadfast in the War on Terror

Christopher Hitchens has been at odds over the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars with fellow leftists intellectuals. In this interview he takes the left to task for its inability to take a clear stand against Islamo-fascism (he gets a few good shots in at those on the right, as well).

But lets look at the case of Iraq and the left. If you asked someone who has the principles of a 1968 leftist the following question: what is your attitude to a regime that has committed genocide, invaded its neighbors, militarized its society into a police state, that has privatized its economy so it is owned by one family, that has defied the non proliferation treaty in many ways, that sought weapons to commit genocide again and cheated on inspections, that has abolished the existence of a neighboring arab muslim state? What is your view of this as anyone who is a 1968 leftist? For me, I would be appalled if anyone knew me even slightly would not guess my attitude. Iraq should have been taken care of a long time ago. Instead, when I made my view public, I was berated by the left and my view was seen as an insane eccentricity.

Nevertheless, he remains steadfast in his support for eliminating the threat of Islamo-fascism:

They gave us no peace and we shouldn’t give them any. We can't live on the same planet as them and I'm glad because I don’t want to. I don’t want to breathe the same air as these psychopaths and murders and rapists and torturers and child abusers. Its them or me. I'm very happy about this because I know it will be them. It’s a duty and a responsibility to defeat them. But it's also a pleasure. I don’t regard it as a grim task at all.

The Most Liberal City...

is reportedly Detroit. I've never been there myself, but am underwhelmed by what I've heard from friends and family who have. Presumably, if this city votes heavily liberal, then liberal politicians would be in charge, right? So, why is it in such bad shape? Initially I wanted to give Detroit the benefit of the doubt and attribute its ills to, perhaps, political corruption or some other extenuating circumstance. However, the study goes on to say that Gary, Indiana, is the second-most liberal city. If I'm not mistaken, Gary is also in extremely bad shape and was once the murder capital of the country (only to be eclipsed a couple years ago by Washington D.C., which is also extremely liberal). Could this be the result of wrong-headed leftist policy? Probably not entirely (to be fair), but it seems to me that their politicians have got to have some culpability. Food for thought.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050811-072804-4191r.htm

Is The World Going M.A.D.?

Over the past couple of weeks I've been reading a lot about intelligence sources that report Al Qaeda has smuggled several nuclear weapons inside the U.S. Reportedly, sleeper cells are waiting to be activated to initiate an "American Hiroshima." It's chilling stuff. The link below is an excellent discussion, primarily amongst political centrists, about many aspects surrounding this potential disaster. It's intelligent debate over probably the most pressing issue of the day. I highly recommend it.

http://donklephant.com/2005/08/10/sitzkriegs-end/

That INXS show

My friend/bandmate Wade is hooked on the new show that involves several would-be frontmen trying to land the INXS gig. I finally caught the last 10 minutes of the show tonight, which basically included the last two performances. The two singers (a white gal who sang a Doobie Brothers cover and a black guy who sang a Bob Marley song) were really good--but, their back-up band smoked. I'm going to try to catch that show again just to listen to the band. The other intrigue in the show may be interesting, too. But, I love watching excellent musicians like that. Wade may be right--I may just get hooked.

Torn Apart Over Iraq

This article by Victor Davis Hanson provides a helpful overview, placing the political debate over the Iraq war in context and asking the question,"Why do we keep fighting each other over Iraq?".

Cultures Aren't Equal

I was talking with a friend a few weeks back about how Americans are one of the few English-speaking countries where overt patriotism occurs. My friend commented that one would never see/hear such displays of patriotism in Canada, Austrailia, or Britain. Calling it unfashionable is to put it politely. As an American who loves my country, I found this odd, particularly since I see so much to respect in those countries. The article linked to in the post title, which is written by Michael Barone, argues that all cultures are not equal.

Multiculturalism is based on the lie that all cultures are morally equal. In practice, that soon degenerates to: All cultures are morally equal, except ours, which is worse. But all cultures are not equal in respecting representative government, guaranteed liberties and the rule of law. And those things arose not simultaneously and in all cultures, but in certain specific times and places -- mostly in Britain and America, but also in various parts of Europe. In America, as in Britain, multiculturalism has become the fashion in large swathes of our society. So the Founding Fathers are presented only as slaveholders, World War II is limited to the internment of Japanese-Americans and the bombing of Hiroshima. Slavery is identified with America, though it has existed in every society and the antislavery movement arose first among English-speaking evangelical Christians.

But most Americans know there is something special about our cultural heritage. Mutilculturalist intellectuals do not think our kind of society is worth defending. But millions here and increasing numbers in Britain and other countries know better.

Corruption at the U.N.

It seems to me that the U.N. is a complete waste. This organization has become a cesspool of unethical behavior and managerial incompetence. The most recent example is the long overdue guilty plea of an ex-procurement official that was finally hauled off to jail after Secretary General Kofi Annan withdrew his diplomatic immunity. The official--Alexander Yakovlev--reportedly solicited a bribe from a French company that bid unsuccessfully on an oil-for-food contract. The report found no evidence the company paid the desired bribe; however, it found that $1.3 million had been wired to a bank account Yakolev controlled on the Caribbean island of Antigua since 2000. According to CNN,

"More than $950,000 of these payments came from various companies or persons affiliated with such companies that collectively won more than $79 million in United Nations contracts and purchase orders," the report found.

Furthermore, the oil-for-food program's former chief, Benon Sevan, is accused of receiving more than $147,000 in kickbacks. CNN reports,

The panel's report concluded that Sevan "corruptly derived substantial financial benefits" from a company that purchased Iraqi oil under the program. The money was used to shore up Sevan's "precarious" personal finances from 1998 to 2002, the report concluded. In his resignation letter, Sevan called his management of the program "transparent" and denied any wrongdoing. But Volcker said investigators had "reasonably sufficient evidence" for their findings. "In these cases, we clearly believe that standard has been met, and our conclusions are obviously significant and troubling," said Volcker, the former chief of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.

I realize the world needs some diplomatic organizational structure wherein policy issues can be debated and consensus acheived. But, the long-standing policy of diplomatic immunity for these bureaucrats has lead to arrogance, self-righteousness, and corruption. I, for one, am happy that it's getting a big black eye because it sorely needs a generous slice of humble pie. How anyone can take a bureaucratic body like the U.N. seriously when it behaves in such a way--not to mention some of the other inexplicable things it does, like allowing genocidal regimes like Sudan to hold the leadership on the human rights commission--I'll never know.

Air Ameriscam

Hugh Hewitt and a host of other bloggers are keeping tabs on the growing scam at the far-left radio network, Air America. It will be interesting to see if the MSM picks up on this. Here's a selection from Hugh's article in the Weekly Standard.

When Air America launched last year, it was the beneficiary of more free publicity than any radio show or network launch had ever received. So desperate was the mainstream media to find some left-leaning response to the Limbaugh-led revolution in talk radio that the many and obvious flaws in the network's offerings went largely unreported. To its troubles over audience decline must now be added the very strong smell of scandal.

The full details are available from bloggers Radio Equalizer, Michelle Malkin, and Ed Morrissey, and New York Sun reporter David Lombino is digging as well. Short version: Not-for-profits that exist to serve kids and Alzheimer's' patients, overwhelmingly via the funds obtained from government grants, should not be "investing" in incredibly risky start-up radio networks. But the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club--apparently now defunct--did just that last spring, funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into Air America's coffers.

Peter Jennings R.I.P.

Peter Jennings died of lung cancer yesterday. Obviously, Mr. Jennings was a giant of television journalism in our country. As a communications major with a journalism emphasis (and an English literature minor) in college, I became a voracious consumer of news in my early '20s,and regularly channel surfed between the "Big 3" evening news broadcasts (i.e. Jennings, Brokaw, and Rather). While I sometimes disagreed with the context in which Mr. Jennings presented a story, I always believed that he was a man of honesty and integrity. Furthermore, in today's world of combative journalism, there are few journalists capable of delivering the news in a thoughtful and concise way, like Mr. Jennings could.

I actually met him once at my church, the Anaheim Vineyard, in 1994 when he was doing an expose on the renewal movement in the church that was occuring at that time. He seemed a genuinely friendly person, greeting me with a handshake and a smile that exuded a warmth of personality. I also remember during his visit to our church that he allowed several old ladies to pray for him, presumably to see if the Holy Spirit would touch him as it appeared He was touching others on that Sunday. He appeared stoic as they prayed. I hope he made peace with God. He will be greatly missed.

Shame in Atlanta

Harry Belafonte is at it again. After calling Colin Powell a "house slave" on Larry King in 2002, he provides an encore performance, referring to African-American officials in the Bush Administration as "black tyrants" and comparing the administration to Nazi Germany. Then comedian Dick Gregory tried out some of his new routine, calling the United States "the most dishonest, ungodly, unspiritual nation that ever existed in the history of the planet." But, don't dare question his patriotism.

These people have nothing serious to say--nothing to add to the national dialogue. They've just become bitter old men with declining influence among anybody that matters. If this is where the "civil rights" movement is headed, I think the country would be better served if they just folded up their tents and went home.

Bringing the Jihad to China

The title link is to a blog entitled Lebanese Political Journal. In this article, the author explores why Al Qaeda has not undertaken jihad in China, where Muslims are actually oppressed (unlike in the United States). It is a question worth pondering.

The Left Excommunicates One of Its Own

One of the many things I appreciated about my brother-in-law Myke (a Canadian with left-of-center political leanings) during his recent visit was that we could disagree about political or philosophical topics with mutual respect and admiration for one another's arguments and the core beliefs upon which those arguments are founded. Similar discussions with those who maintain a near-religious belief in the veracity and immutability of their own opinions--often (but, certainly not always) arrived at purely through emotion or a desire to belong to a certain group--can often feel like an exercise in futility.

The title of this post links to an article that is illustrative of this issue. The article is penned by a leftist columnist in Britain named Nick Cohen, who describes his "excommuniction" from the "church" of the left-wing, anti-war movement in Britain by a former friend in an article in another newspaper. He has an interesting insight to a tactic employed by his former friend.

The least attractive characteristic of the middle-class left - one shared with the Thatcherites - is its refusal to accept that its opponents are sincere. The legacy of Marx and Freud allows it to dismiss criticisms as masks which hide corruption, class interests, racism, sexism - any motive can be implied except fundamental differences of principle.

Impugning their opponent's motives enables some on the left to side-step the shaky ground upon which they base their own argument, thereby changing the focus of the debate from the issue at hand to the suspect ulterior motives behind the "reasoning" of their opponent's argument. Cohen's article shows that near-religious adherence to their ideology prevents some leftists from seeing that blind hatred for Tony Blair, George W. Bush, et. al., virtually makes them apologists for an ideology which would normally appear to be anathema to their own.

...good motives of tolerance and respect for other cultures have had the unintended consequence of leading a large part of post-modern liberal opinion into the position of 19th-century imperialists. It is presumptuous and oppressive to suggest that other cultures want the liberties we take for granted, their argument runs. So it may be, but believe that and the upshot is that democracy, feminism and human rights become good for whites but not for browns and brown-skinned people who contradict you are the tools of the neo-conservatives.

On the other hand when confronted with a movement of contemporary imperialism - Islamism wants an empire from the Philippines to Gibraltar - and which is tyrannical, homophobic, misogynist, racist and homicidal to boot, they feel it is valid because it is against Western culture. It expresses its feelings in a regrettably brutal manner perhaps, but that can't hide its authenticity. The result of this inversion of principles has been that liberals can't form alliances with the victims of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan or Iraq any more than the [W.H.] Auden generation could form alliances with the victims of Stalinism.

Cohen is dubious that some of his fellow travelers on the left will be able to free themselves from their ideological straighjacket before it's too late.

The thing to watch for with fellow travellers is what shocks them into pulling the emergency cord and jumping off the train. I know some will stay on to the terminus, and when the man with the rucksack explodes his bomb their dying words will be: 'It's not your fault. I blame Tony Blair.'

Mark Steyn has a funny way

of lambasting the Democrats and the odd ways they criticize the President in his Chicago Sun Times column entitled: Democrats' New Strategy: Almost Winning.

Fortunately, the Dems have found a new line of attack to counter the evil election-stealing moron. A few days ago, the Democratic National Committee put out a press release attacking Bush for being physically fit. It seems his physical fitness comes at the expense of the nation's lardbutt youth. Or as the DNC put it:

"While President Bush has made physical fitness a personal priority, his cuts to education funding have forced schools to roll back physical education classes and his administration's efforts to undermine Title IX sports programs have threatened thousands of women's college sports programs."

Wow. I noticed my gal had put on a few pounds but I had no idea it was Bush's fault. That sonofabitch chicken hawk. Just for the record, "his cuts to education funding" are cuts only in the sense that [Democrat candidate ] Hackett's [losing] performance in the Ohio election was a tremendous victory: that's to say, Bush's "cuts to education funding" are in fact an increase of roughly 50 percent in federal education funding.

Some of us wish he had cut education funding. By any rational measure, a good third of public school expenditures are completely wasted. But instead it's skyrocketed. And the idea that Bush is heartlessly pursuing an elite leisure activity denied to millions of American schoolchildren takes a bit of swallowing given that his preferred fitness activity is running. "Running" requires two things: you and ground. Short of buying every schoolkid some John Kerry thousand-dollar electric-yellow buttock-hugging lycra singlet, it's hard to see what there is about "running" that requires increasing federal funding.

Interesting blog

Some close friends of mine have started a blog entitled "The Srutinty." It's emphasis is on food, wine, film, and music, with some politics mixed in. I love all that stuff and I think you will find the blog insightful. So, check it out @ http://thescrutiny.blogspot.com/.

The Importance of Core Beliefs

One of the main reasons (among many) I think the discussion of morality and ethics is so important is because core beliefs are, obviously, the primary influence on our behavior--toward individuals and the larger society. It has been said that if you don't believe in something you'll fall for anything. To a degree I think that's what Dennis Prager meant in the preceding article when he writes

In the Judeo-Christian value system, God is the source of moral values and therefore what is moral and immoral transcends personal or societal opinion. Without God, each society or individual makes up its or his/her moral standards. But once individuals or societies become the source of right and wrong, right and wrong, good and evil, are merely adjectives describing one's preferences. This is known as moral relativism, and it is the dominant attitude toward morality in modern secular society.

Although it certainly existed beforehand, relativism in our country became much more widespread and accepted after it was embraced by the youth culture during the 1960s "ME" generation, which rejected traditional mores in favor of the credo "If it feels good, do it." I believe that many of our society's current ills have resulted from this paradigm shift. It's difficult to understand how the belief that "everything is relative" still has ardent proponents since it is obviously, an exercise in self-contradiction. And yet moral relativism is pervasive in our culture, and particularly rampant in our universities. Young people are taught that the value of one idea over another is completely in the eye of the beholder. The problem is that ideas have meaning (and consequences). I'll have more to say about this later.

Morality: Absolutism vs. Relativism

The post title links to another in a series of articles written by Dennis Prager on secularism and Judeo-Christian values. I think these comparative discussions are particularly relevant today as there are strong ideological currents pulling in opposite directions at the collective soul of our society. As the post title indicates, this article examines the distinction between moral relativism and absolutism. However, one of the most interesting points Mr. Prager makes has to do with the distinction between moral relativism and situational ethics. In other words, one may believe in moral absolutes and situational ethics. Here's a portion of the discussion regarding situational ethics.

An act that is wrong is wrong for everyone in the same situation, but almost no act is wrong in every situation. Sexual intercourse in marriage is sacred; when violently coerced, it is rape. Truth telling is usually right, but if, during World War II, Nazis asked you where a Jewish family was hiding, telling them the truth would have been evil. So, too, it is the situation that determines when killing is wrong. That is why the Ten Commandments says "Do not murder," not "Do not kill." Murder is immoral killing, and it is the situation that determines when killing is immoral and therefore murder. Pacifism, the belief that it is wrong to take a life in every situation, is based on the mistaken belief that absolute morality means "in every situation" rather than "for everyone in the same situation." For this reason, it has no basis in Judeo-Christian values, which holds that there is moral killing
(self-defense, defending other innocents, taking the life of a murderer) and immoral killing (intentional murder of an innocent individual, wars of aggression, terrorism, etc.).

A favorite picture

I love this amazingly stark and beautiful photo.

And this, of course, is Phil Specter. For better or worse, he is not producing our bands.

Wade Varieur plays drums in Afterfall and Lower Than Angels. He's also co-written many AF songs with Darren Varieur.

Darren Varieur plays guitar and sings lead in Afterfall. He also plays guitar and sings background in Lower Than Angels

In concert with Afterfall at the Roxy Theater in Hollywood. Larry Hampton plays lead guitar with Afterfall. He also plays guitar and sings lead vocal for Lower Than Angels.

Secularism and the meaningless life

Up until now I hadn't posted explicitly about religion (although previous posts about terrorism occassionally involve thoughts about Islamic religious ideology). Nevertheless, I find it a fascinating and important topic that is worthy of discussion.

The title of this post links to an article by one of my favorite people--Dennis Prager. Dennis is a highly respected talk-show host who broadcasts a morning show (9 a.m. to noon, PST) on KRLA in the Los Angeles area (sorry for the commercial). He also writes syndicated columns, lectures, and teaches the Old Testament (he's a devout Jew), among other things (he even conducts orchestras occassionally). One of things I admire about Dennis is his love for truth and clarity. The article I link to discusses the meaning of life through the eyes of the secular compared to the way those who subscribe to the Judeo-Christian value system see it. The following is a selection from the article.

"If there is no God as Judeo-Christian religions understand Him, life is a meaningless random event. You and I are no more significant, our existence has no more meaning, than that of a rock on Mars. The only difference between us and Martian rocks is that we need to believe our existence has significance."

He makes a compelling case, as you will see if you read the whole article.

NHL season shaping up for SoCal teams

The Los Angeles Kings got Jeremy Roenick in a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers today. I think it's a good addition to the team. Not as good as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' signing of Scott Niedermeyer, who comes to Orange County to play with his brother Rob, who just re-upped for 4 years. Scott won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2003-04. Anaheim's new GM promises that the Ducks will be an attacking, up-tempo team. Next season should be exciting for SoCal hockey fans.

Corrected link to Democrat Vote Fraud post

Thanks to Jason for pointing out the bad link. This link will take you to the executive summary of the source document on the American Center for Voting Rights website. It's interesting.
http://www.ac4vr.com/reports/072005/executivesummary.html

Surprise lunch

I unexpectedly crossed paths with Bob Hartry in a retail center parking lot near VCF Anaheim, which was a pretty amazing coincidence. He said he was following me--kinda like this ghost (he was joking, of course). We had lunch together at the Thai House and it was good to see him. We are planning to make another trip to L.A. to look for some new music, a guitar or two, and a leather-skinned sugar daddy with a panama hat and a big grin. I'm sure we'll mix in a few margaritas, too. Stay tuned for highlights.

Democrats Voter Fraud

It's disgusting how some Democrats hyperventilate about "Republican voter intimdation" when it is so easy for the most casual observer to see that they are by far more involved in unethical (and sometimes violent) practices. The title of this post links to an article that presents the details of a comprehensive review of the facts related to vote fraud during the 2004 presidential election. Here's a sample of the study's findings.

"The ACVR Legislative Fund report, "Vote Fraud, Intimidation & Suppression In The 2004 presidential Election," finds that while Democrats routinely accuse Republicans of voter intimidation and suppression, neither party has a clean record on the issue. The report finds that paid Democrat operatives were far more involved in voter intimidation and suppression activities than were their Republican counterparts during the 2004 presidential election. Examples include paid Democrat operatives charged with slashing tires on GOP get-out-the-vote vans in Milwaukee and an Ohio court order stopping Democrat operatives from calling voters telling them the wrong date for the election and faulty polling place information.

"The report further finds that thousands of Americans were disenfranchised by illegal votes cast and a coordinated effort by members of certain "nonpartisan" organizations to rig the election system through voter registration fraud in more than a dozen states. Examples include a law enforcement task force finding "clear evidence of fraud in the Nov. 2 election in Milwaukee," including hundreds of felon and double voters and thousands more ballots cast than voters recorded as having voted in the city and multiple indictments and convictions of ACORN workers for voter registration fraud in several states."

Upcoming LTA Show

It sounds like we may be playing a festival at Aviation Stadium on August 27th. Stay tuned for more details.

LTA @ Suzy's Bar & Grill

LTA played at Suzy's Bar & Grill in Hermosa Beach last night. It was great to see some friendly, familiar faces at the show. The gig was good, except for the waitresses complaining it was too loud. The band had a new line-up last night, featuring Darren Varieur, Bob Hartry, and Larry Hampton on guitars, Wade Varieur on drums, and Dean Tapia on bass. Mike Sanchez, who often plays with us, was out of town until just before show time; but he made an appearance anyway! Thanks for coming out, Mike. It's always a blast when you are there. Before the gig, we had a great afternoon rehearsal at Cat Beach (Bob's studio) followed by an excellent sushi dinner in San Pedro. It was awesome.

UK subsidizing terrorists?

So says Mark Steyn in this article. Here's a money quote, "'Omar [one of the suicide bombers], received £88 a week in housing benefit to pay for the council property and also received income support, immigration officials say.' 'Council property' is Britspeak for public housing. So here's how things stand four years after 9/11: United Kingdom taxpayers are subsidizing the jihad. There's a cheery thought for any Englishman the next time he's on a bus when some Islamakazi self-detonates: It's on his tax bill; pay as you blow."